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Monday, October 29, 2012

and all i can think about is my dumb cat all by himself with my inlaws in Boston. Surviving his first halloween (I know he is missing that Petsmart visit so bad right now) and hurricane alone. He's not terribly intelligent so I am just hoping some animal survival instincts kick in and he doesn't drive my inlaws crazy trying to get outside and "find/wait for" us. I love that cat more than I will even admit and if he knows what's good for him he will live another 20 years before using any of those 9 lives of his. He is just too good to me and our little family for us to part with him. Also in my increasingly hormonal and emotional state in this pregnancy, I will completely lose it if we lose him. Be safe my Kevs.

Also just a heads up, this Kevinmontage is completely chronologically out of order. Enjoy.

Is (at least for now) a kinetic learner, meaning he is very tactile and enjoys doing things with his hands. Which is funny to me since it makes me think about how when he was a baby he NEVER put anything in his mouth, it must have been because he wanted his hands to be holding, handling, exploring toys and things instead. We already knew he had extremely mind boggling hand eye coordination when it comes to sports, but he is pretty good with play doh and painting as well, when he puts his mind to it. He still pretty much refuses to use crayons but will use markers in a heartbeat. He loves opening pistachios and recently started opening his own clementines.

Could probably have PBS on 24/7 in the background while playing if it was nothing but Cat in the Hat, Curious George, and Wild Kratts. He will watch an episode of CG, maybe two, but then grows bored and wants to shoot hoops, jump on a trampoline, etc. Blue's Clues may be a thing of the past since they (gasp!) no longer have episodes for free on demand. Whomp whomp. Not to mention we won't have a TV once we move anyway, so that may be an adjustment.

Is still in his crib and has made no attempt to get out. He has a pile of stuffed animals, untouched on one end of the crib, then he sleeps snuggled on his stomach on the other side with his two puppies (usually wrapped per request in receiving blankets) and occasionally Daddy bear if the Mr. is out of town. Our bedtime routine consists of brushing teeth, me reading him a book and then he "reading" me the same back to me. I put him in his crib and he is covered with at least two blankets, and I rub his back while we say prayers. He still cries when I leave the room but at least it lasts less than 10 minutes. It is my favorite time of day to be with him other than first thing in the morning because he is always sweet and wants to hold my hand, rub my belly, give me extra hugs and kisses.... the boy loves his bedtime routine and I love being part of it with him. I think we will probably transition him to a toddler bed whenever we move. More on that later.

extremely adept at all things electronic. Most of you already know he is extremely good at the ipad and my iphone (as evidenced by how he was able to show all the other children how to work theirs at the apple store earlier this month). But what you may not know is that he went on my computer for the first unsupervised time ever and I had my itunes open, sure enough he clicked on the file with his name on it and proudly showed it to me. We have been watching a lot of baby movies of him lately and he loves watching "baby dust" (especially when it involves uncle DK).

enjoys sequencing: listing out all the things we did or are about to do for me (something I probably do too often for him), although he will randomly sprinkle things in like "eat cookies and ice cream" or "go mini golfing". It is terribly endearing. He throws fits when we don't do things he wants to do, but I'm slowly figuring out ways to distract him and minimize the craziness, and play doh is almost always a winner.

says some of the funniest things: he says "sorry" a lot, mostly when he gets told off, but also when he thinks someone is in the wrong, not necessarily him (including when someone beeps their horn), "stop doing that", "hold on", "don't say that" (mostly to Mr. D when he makes noises or says a word in a silly way, which he does all the time), "oh, silly Kevin!" (or whoever he is talking about, sometimes himself), "I not like that", "I full" (when he is done with anything, food or otherwise).

is still so in love with "his brother." We look for Kevs every time we come home, and little d never fails to "help" Kevs into the house by picking him up, hugging him, or otherwise smothering him with love. Thankfully the amount of dead animals being brought into our home has drastically declined to ZERO (hopefully due to the colder weather, knock on wood it stays that way) so I'm okay with the Kevin snuggling.

loves to snuggle with me in my bed, and has gotten into the habit of asking me first thing in the morning, and right after he wakes up from his nap, "are you tired? I watch george, mommy take a nap?"

has gotten into football watching, and loves to shout "lets go patriots!" "come on cougars!" "oh COME ON, Tom Brady!", etc at random.

adores his dad, and similar to brother kevs, is always asking where daddy is. He knows if daddy is at work he is either upstairs (and he needs to ask "are you busy?" before walking into the room), on a plane, or out in a car.

still loves singing and will randomly break into song or humming, especially when he is eating or doing art of some sort. Usually songs we learn from Music Makers, but some other ones as well.

he knows the names of all our neighbors and addresses them whenever he sees them. Unfortunately a few of them are elderly and can't hear him, and he just keeps hollering till he gets some sort of response.

is loving halloween and autumn. Comments on the colors of the leaves and how some trees are "naked", or how nice/cold/windy/rainy the weather is. LOVES all the spiderwebs (we pass by three homes covered in them in the seven minute drive to the gym), skeletons, etc. Has a full understanding of what trick or treat entails and is way too excited to ring doorbells and holler at strangers in exchange for candy.

When anna came to visit he loved explaining how each sport works to her. for example, football "they say hike, and then THROW, and then CATCH and the football guy throw in the TOUCHDOOOOOWN!"

Time out has turned into calm down time, thanks to Hillary for the idea. I can usually sway him into not doing something bad (hitting, kicking, disobeying in general) if I mention the idea of a time out. ("If you keep hitting that table/you need to say you're sorry or else you will get a time out") and that is usually enough to avert him from the situation. When he has a meltdown however it is a different story. I love what Naomi had to say about how most kids during a meltdown just need some comfort. I never thought of it that way, and have been trying to see meltdowns as just that... devastation in realizing that the world does not in fact revolve around you, and that being a sad thing. Enter the calm down chair (same idea as time out, but used more for taking a chill pill than being an actual punishment). It has been working out for us discipline wise for a few days so we will see how it translates once we make it back to Boston.

Also this morning little d decided not to grace us with his presence till 8am. EIGHT O CLOCK IN THE MORNING. Miracles happen, even if only once in a lifetime (pretty literally, for this kid since I think he has done that maybe twice in his whole life!). We will certainly be celebrating and I have been making a big deal of it all day... next month we may be transitioning to a big boy bed so we shall see how that wreaks havock on his sleeping. :)

I think I have said it and I will continue to say it till it no longer stands as true... they may call it the terrible twos for the sake of the tantrums, but the love he so freely shares in the forms of kisses, puppy licks, hugs, and overal sweetness far outweighs that and two has been my favorite year (granted there are only two to choose from, but still) by far. Good work, little kid. You are well on your way to being an awesome big brother.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Little d has gone to bed for now the third night in a row after 9, which wouldn't be such a huge problem if he wasn't used to going to bed between 730 and 8, since regardless of bedtime he will be awake by 6 (unless there's a Haley's comet sort of day like there was on Sunday). I think the craziness of his schedule must have caught up with him since the last two days went a little like this.

4am yesterday morning I woke up, afraid to fall back asleep and sleep through my alarm. I was leaving at 630 to babysit my friend's son, and of I was late it would mean her husband would be late to dental school. Not on my watch. Of course aside from going to the gym by 9am, I never HAVE to be anywhere super early anymore (at least not before the child arises) but he has a tendency to sleep in on days that I do need to get somewhere (only a problem when i depend on him as an alarm) and today was no different. The anxiety I felt for over two hours in which I was not able to go back to sleep was well founded, since I had to wake little d up by placing him in the car.

After a fun but exhausting morning chasing after/stopping fights between two two year old boys, I elected to opt out of my standard afternoon nap to spend time with my sister who was only in town for about 36 hours. No regrets there. We had a great day and by the time I got home from dinner to put little d to bed at 9 it was already time to pick up mr. D from the airport.

Then all to soon came midnight. I'd been trying to fall asleep but pregnancy insomnia was hitting me hard. Little d started crying. Not super loud and only a few minutes on and off but enough to keep me awake debating is it molars? Is he hungry? Should I get him?

Long story short, the hours of 1 am to 3 am were terribly trying and I could not understand what was wrong with little d. Who only sleeps three hours and decides they're done for the night?! I mean didn't he realize i hadn't slept in more than 22 hours?!?! So rude. Then mr d being the angel husband that he is, stepped in and took little d downstairs to play with him till 630 am while i finally got some sleep. What a saint. I woke up long enough to help put the babe back to sleep and We three then passed out till 930, when our saturday finally began for real.

I thought two weeks ago that I felt TBD moving... Whatever I felt I haven't felt it since. Must have been gas bubbles? Anyway, tonight while bowling with both my favorite boys for the first time as a family, I felt that oh so familiar feeling. It took me by surprise, since I was used to only feeling baby (at least in the early weeks), while relaxed and sitting or laying down. But I felt him/her while jumping up and down cheering for little d bowling for the first time. As if his little brother or sister knew what was going on and couldn't wait to join in. I've been feeling these movements on and off all evening and am relieved and excited... Feeling movement, finding out the gender, and the burgeoning belly growth are the "making this whole pregnancy experience real" trifecta for me, which will officially be complete (hopefully) in less than two weeks when we can start planning for a little brother or sister.

Some parts of pregnancy make it feel like its lasting an eternity but truth be told even with the occasional sleepless craziness, I am already feeling a bit hesitant about the transition from 1 to 2. I know I will love this baby equally as I love little d but it's still such an abstract thought that it is difficult to not imagine this little intruder cramping our mommy-son bonding time. When i initially thought about the kids being 3 years apart i thought it was too far apart... Now that we are inching closer to reality i am wishing we had waited a little longer... Or maybe i could just bottle up two year old little d, with all his kisses, hugs, silliness and funny catch phrases and keep him this way forever. He may have a few sleeping kinks to work out but personality wise, he is perfection.

Seriously though. I am hoping the gender reveal and accompanying use of his/her name in a few weeks will help soften my heart towards this new baby because I am feeling awfully attached to my firstborn....

We have been through so much together, but I try to remember love is never divided, only multiplied.

While I spend most troubled days (ok it was just a few hours for me) struggling to understand "why me?" in my trials (and it doesn't always come in a moment of perfect clarity like it did for me this morning), today I was reassured of my husbands love for me and his decision to be a partner in raising our boy. Not that I usually have doubts about that sort of thing, but while I married him for his looks, personality, and of course the fabulous way he wooed me into courtship, I truly had no idea what kind of father he was going to be until he became one.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

My dad brought home a coconut today which little d excitedly helped us crack open and eagerly gathered the juice. We put it in a cup, he took one sip and said to me very seriously "I don't like this. It makes me sick."

Sunday, October 21, 2012

He woke up at 7:03 am. O to the MG.
Meaning he slept for 11 hours or the first time since I don't know when... Most nights I am lucky to get 9.5 hours.

We spent an incredible morning running 4 miles (and only listening to "call me maybe" about 6 times), followed by some time at my old stomping grounds (high school baby) playing in the baseball and soccer fields, and watching a pee wee football game at the stadium that he did not want to leave!

On our drive to 1pm church, he fell asleep in the car (to be fair, he told me at least three times he was soooo tired but not sleeping yet) and proceeded to sleep in my arms for all of 40 minutes. This has happened one other time in the last 2 years and I cannot tell you how much I missed and loved and never wanted it to end.

We have not had a "good" Sunday in longer than I can remember, most of them being sleep deprived, tantrum loaded, etc. Tender mercies like today make me realize this is what makes being a mother completely worth anything and everything and makes it the best job on the planet.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

I would have never thought I would fall in love with a hunk of metal on wheels but here you have it. I am fully completely in love with the one and only stroller this boy has ever known (the snap and go doesn't really count). It breaks my heart to think I would possibly have to get a double stroller that isn't a BOB, so I am considering not getting another stroller at all. Little d loves walking around most of the time, but sometimes he makes me bring the stroller along just because he loves it so much! (and it's a great place to stash food, drinks, and stuffed puppies). So here's my little tribute to nearly 18 months with our BOB revolution.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Can you believe I am almost caught up?! Me either. If I would not have gotten so far behind this summer this love letters thing would have been cake. Hopefully it will be as soon as I'm caught up in the next few days!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Growing up in Ohio I have dealt with my fair share of tornado watches and warnings, in Utah I was in constant fear (thanks to a weather and natural disasters class at BYU) of living directly on a major fault line and experiencing an earthquake "land before time" style (that would engulf all of Utah valley, naturally) and tonight I was on the phone with my dad in the kitchen and the most bizarre thing happened and the entire house shook for about 5 seconds!! I remember my mom told me about the time she felt her first earthquake (of many since she lived in Chile), and I wanted to remember mine. Thankfully it was centered in far away Maine, and although it was a 4.6, it was very shallow and that was how we felt it in Massachusetts.

Mr. D doesn't get a ton of time alone out and about with little d like I do. Mostly because if we are going to do something and he's not working, I don't want to be left out! But a few Saturdays ago (don't worry, I should be caught up on blogging at this rate before the next baby comes) I had some meetings to go to, and it happened to fall on a Wild West carnival weekend. All photos are courtesy of Mr. D.

One of these football shots (of the ball going into the hole, mind you) made it into the local paper!!

A morning of goodies instead of meals, nonstop games and hanging out with dad. Nothing could be better.

and the pouring of the crepes, for those of you (like me) who had never actually done this until a few months ago, crepes can be hard! I usually double my batch so I can get away with a couple burnt/too thick throwaways.
my 1/4 measuring cup and about how much batter I put into it. so maybe 2/3 of a 1/4 cup?

(post-buttering), you throw it on the pan as fast as you can, spreading it around so it gets that circular look.

move the pan around till the batter stops moving, this will keep it most even.

aaand then wait for it to brown!

Pouring it in the pan, it should make a nice thin layer. It may bubble a little but probably not, you just sort of watch the edges and when they look like you can stick a spatula underneath them to flip the crepe over, do it!

post-flip. I usually like a little more brown, but it is always better to undercook than overcook a crepe... you can always re-flip it over to add a little more color if you desire.

if you do have leftovers (the recipe makes about 11 crepes), put plastic in between each one so that they don't stick together in the freezer or refrigerator.

They last a few days in the fridge and a few weeks in the freezer.

Farmer's Breakfast (recipe adapted from

I used regular sharp cheddar cheese, and instead of bacon, these amazing Aidell mini sausages.

throw it all together and put in the fridge for a few hours. then remove, cook at 350 for 45 minutes or until fully cooked.